It was a chippy first-round matchup between the No. 3 seeded New York Knicks and the No. 6 seeded Detroit Pistons, but the difference in experience showed once the fourth quarter got underway.
The Knicks outscored the Pistons 40-21 in the final frame, on the back of Jalen Brunson, as New York took game one 123-112. The Knicks went on a 21-0 run for four minutes and 20 seconds in the fourth, setting the tone for the series with a 1-0 series lead in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal.
“There’s obviously things we’re going to have to do a lot better,” said Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau. “It’s one win, we have to reset and get ready for the next one.”
The shooting lanes were clogged for three quarters, as the Knicks shot under 50% from the field. All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson struggled to find the bottom of the net, shooting 12-for-27 with 34 points. If it wasn’t for the Knicks’ dominant run, they’d be trailing in this series.
Detroit took a 91-83 lead into the fourth quarter after outscoring the Knicks 36-26 in the third. As New York started knocking down more buckets and forcing turnovers, the Pistons started to feel the pressure, which led to the costly 21-0 run.
OG Anunoby had himself quite the first half, pouring in 19 of his 23 points. While the 6-foot-7 forward had himself a night on the offensive end, he was tasked with shutting down Cade Cunningham on the other end. Anunoby also added five steals and two blocks to his credit.
Cunningham, who averaged roughly 30.8 points, five rebounds, and 8.3 assists per game in the four meetings between these two teams, was held to 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting. Most of his points came in garbage time with the Knicks leading by double-digits.
Three veterans picked up Cunningham’s slack, as Malik Beasly, Tobias Harris and Tim Hardaway Jr. all had double-figures in the contest. The trio combined for 64 points, 13 rebounds and three assists.
Karl-Anthony Towns shot an efficient 71.4% from the field and scored 23 points. He was also a force defensively, forcing four steals and two blocks.
Cameron Payne played a huge role for New York off the bench, pouring in 14 points in 15 minutes. Payne shot 5-of-7 from the field and 60% from behind the arc.
“He’s [Payne] a great energy guy and every day he’s the same,” Thibodeau said. “He’s a catalyst, he gets in there and makes things happen.”
The Knicks are back in action for game two of their series with the Pistons on Monday night. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET from Madison Square Garden.
